The device is a specialty item used in both sport and commercial fishing activities. It is used to assist in landing relatively large fish, most commonly fish taken by rod and reel techniques used in fishing from boats and fishing piers.
The fishing gaff is not a new device. It has been used by sport and commercial fishermen for generations to assist the ultimate taking of fish that are too large and at times too dangerous to land using nets or simply unassisted by hand.
The traditional device is reflected accurately by devices most commonly used today. The basic device comprises two essential elements: a hook portion strongly fastened to a handle. In addition some devices are fitted with a simple lanyard. Most commonly both the handle and hook components are made of metal. Some devices have wooden handles, and some may have plastic handles, but the material has little effect on the use. The size and strength vary as a function of the intended use or type of fish anticipated to be taken. Length most commonly is 1.0 to 2.0 m and the diameter of the circle that describes the hook portion varies from rarely less than 5.0 cm to 15.0 cm. The devices are strong enough to land fish ranging in weight from less than 5 kg to over 100 kg. Lighter weight fish may be taken using a gaff, and at the upper weight limits, additional devices may be used in conjunction with gaffing.
The gaff is a classic hand held device. When a fish is played by rod and reel and ultimately brought to the boat or pier, a gaff may be used to hook or impale and control the fish and as a grip to lift the fish into the boat or onto the pier.
The basic function is to impale a fish on the hook of the gaff by swinging the gaff in a short arc and impaling or hooking a fish brought next to a boat or pier on a fishing line. This simple process fails when either the hook is not firmly imbedded in the fish and it pulls free when the fish struggles, the handle breaks as a result of pressure exerted by the fish in a struggle to free itself or the gaffed fish is not weak enough to be landed, and the gaff is pulled from the user""s hands. In some instances, the gaff breaks at the handle when the user, in an effort to lift or otherwise control the fish, uses the gaff as a leaver against the side of the boat.
Failure is undesirable for a variety of reasons. Fish that have been impaled that escape as a result of dislodging the gaff hook, breaking the gaff handle or by pulling the gaff from the user""s hands are frequently severely injured and left relatively defenseless in their return to their habitat. Obviously the fish is lost to the sportsman or commercial fisherman, and the gaff may be lost or destroyed. Both a potential trophy and a valuable piece of equipment may be lost with resulting expenses and inconvenience.
Gaffs of prior art design frequently pull free from large fish when the impaled fish struggles. Struggling fish also may pull the gaff from the user""s hands. The object of this invention is a shock absorbing gaff not known in the prior art that reduces the tendency for the gaff to pull free from an impaled fish and buffer struggling so as to reduce the tendency of the gaff to be pulled from the user""s hands.
The shock absorbing gaff comprises the two basic components of a traditional, prior art gaff: a hook element and a staff element. The staff element comprises a lower handle unit and an upper handle unit. The upper handle unit is positioned over the proximal end of the lower handle unit such that the lower handle unit is partially inserted into the upper handle unit when the upper handle unit and lower handle units are in a locked or closed position or configuration. The lower handle unit can be separated from the upper handle unit by releasing a manual latch device positioned on the proximal end of the upper handle unit, or in an alternate mode, the releasable locking device may be positioned elsewhere on the upper handle unit. The release of said latch device in response to a struggling fish impaled on the hook attached to the distal end of said lower handle unit allows said lower handle unit to separate from said upper handle unit. A shock absorbing means connects said lower handle unit and said upper handle unit and by allowing said lower handle unit to move from said upper handle unit under resistance reduces the impact of the struggling fish and probability of the hook pulling free from said fish. The shock absorbing device also reduces the tendency of said gaff to be pulled from the user""s hands.
In addition to the physical, shock absorbing function of the device that is activated when the lower handle unit is released from the upper handle unit, in this unlocked or released configuration, within a short range, the gaff device can be used to play the impaled fish by moving the upper handle unit alternately towards and away from the fish. Finally, in the released configuration, the device is significantly lengthened, and this alone reduces the need for the user to lean, stretch, and over-reach which at a minimum may be awkward and can lead to loss of equipment and personal injury.
As the struggle subsides, the shock absorbing device may exert a force to return the handle to its initial configuration thereby also bring the impaled fish within reach to land it, as intended. If the device is employed as a leaver, when too much force is exerted to lift the fish, before the handle breaks, the latch, if not previously released, may be released, and the fish is held securely, damage and injury from a broken gaff are minimized, and necessary steps to successfully land the fish may be taken.
More specifically the invention is directed to a device that sport and commercial fishermen use to assist in landing fish taken by rod and reel from boats and from the shore. The staff element of the device comprises two units which are locked together but can be released manually thereby allowing a shock absorbing mechanism positioned in the lower handle unit to dissipate energy of a struggling, impaled fish. The shock absorbing means reduces the probability of a fish pulling free of the hook and being lost, damaging the gaff, or pulling the gaff from the user""s hands.
The invention also anticipates and claims a gaff device comprising a single staff element with shock absorbing capabilities.